- A team of Greek and Spanish doctors has produced a baby in Greece using genetic material from two women and a man.
- The technique used is called as ‘Maternal Spindle transfer’. In this technique, maternal DNA is put into the egg of a donor woman,which is then fertilized using the father’s sperm.
- The procedure was developed to help existing In Vitro Fertilization(IVF) treatments in which mothers have mitochondrial diseases.However,some experts say the technique raises ethical questions and should be banned in cases not involving disease.
- Mitochondria are tiny compartments which are present in every cell of the body that convert food into useable energy.Mitochondrial diseases are long-term,genetic,often inherited disorders that occur when mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for the body to function properly.Therefore,combining the mother’s DNA with a donor’s mitochondria could prevent the disease.
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a medical procedure in which mature egg cells are removed from a woman,fertilized with male sperm outside the body and inserted into the uterus of the same or another woman for normal gestation.
